The Hunt for Ducks is Expanded
Pictorial State and Indian Issues
Starting in 1967 North Dakota began requiring waterfowl hunters to purchase a small game stamp. For fifteen years all of the stamps were non-pictorial. Then, in 1982, the resident stamps began to feature pictorial designs, while the youth and non-resident stamps remained non-pictorial (see Figures 15 and 16).
Figure 15. Starting in 1967, North Dakota issued resident and non resident small game stamps required to hunt waterfowl.
Figure 16. Starting in 1982, North Dakota made their resident stamp pictorial.
Pictorial state waterfowl stamps saw their beginning in 1971, when California commissioned Paul Johnson to design the state’s first duck stamp, a relatively simple rendition of a pair of pintails in flight California’s decision to issue pictorial stamps was prompted by the growing number of collectors interested in fish and game stamps. State officials estimated that any added production costs could be more than made up through the increased sale of stamps to collectors. In 1972 Iowa became the second state to initiate a pictorial waterfowl stamp program and the first to use full color (see Figures 17 and 18).
Figure 17. California issued the first pictorial state waterfowl stamp in 1971.
Figure 18. In 1972 Iowa became the first state to issue waterfowl stamps in multicolor. the stamp was designed by Maynard Reece, winner of five federal contests.
The appearance of new pictorial issues, combined with the publication of E.L. Vanderford’s Handbook of Fish and Came Stamps in 1973, led to a surge in waterfowl stamp collecting.
Maryland and Massachusetts began to issue their stamps in 1974. All Massachusetts stamps depict waterfowl decoys by famous carvers (see Figure 19). Illinois started a pictorial stamp program in 1975. The face value of this stamp was $5, and half of the revenue obtained through its sale went to Ducks Unlimited, a private conservation organization which has done much to aid in waterfowl restoration throughout North America (see Figure 20).
Figure 19. All Massachusetts stamps picture decoys by famous carvers.
Figure 20. The beautiful 1975 Illinois waterfowl stamp.
These pictorial stamp programs were so successful in raising funds for waterfowl conservation projects that many additional states adopted similar stamp programs. Between 1976 and 1980, 13 additional states began issuing pictorial waterfowl stamps. South Dakota discontinued its pictorial waterfowl stamp program following the 1978 season, but continued to issue semi-pictorial stamps for an annual special goose hunt. These were originally Issued on a drawing basis for Bennett County only, starting in 1974 (see Figure 21).
Figure 21. Bennett County Goose stamp issued by South Dakota in 1974. The goose hunts were awarded in a lottery.
In subsequent years the special goose stamps were issued for an increasing number of areas. In 1986 South Dakota would resume issuing pictorial waterfowl stamps. With their 1979 issues, Tennessee became the first state to issue separate pictorial waterfowl stamps for non-residents. These non-resident stamps were discontinued after only two years (see Figure 22).
Figure 22. Tennessee became the first state to issue a pictorial stamp for non resident hunters in 1979. This was the 3rd stamp sold.
In response to an increasing demand for waterfowl stamps on the part of stamp collectors, many states started to print their stamps in two different formats in the 1980s. There was one type, usually printed in booklet panes, for license agents to issue to hunters, and a second type, usually printed in sheets, that was sold to collectors (see Figures 23 and 24).
Figure 23. Fully perforated 1983 New Hampshire waterfowl stamp printed in sheets for collectors.
Figure 24. Booklet format stamp with straight edges issued to hunters.
The 1981 Arkansas stamp was printed in booklet panes of thirty and issued with protective booklet covers to license agents. Sheets of thirty, without protective covers, were kept in Little Rock for sale to collectors. South Carolina issued their first stamp in 1981. They were printed in sheets of thirty. Starting with their second issue in 1982, a portion of the stamps were serially numbered on the reverse and distributed to license agents. Collectors who bought stamps directly from the state were sold stamps from sheets lacking the serial numbers. The agent, or “hunter type” stamps as they are often called, were only sold to those collectors who specifically requested them see Figures 25 and 26).
Figure 25. 1982 South Carolina waterfowl stamp printed to sell to collectors. The stamp has no serial number on the reverse.
Figure 26. Reverse of 1982 South Carolina waterfowl stamp issued to hunters. This unused block of six may be the largest multiple recorded.
When North Dakota introduced their first pictorial stamps in 1982, the first 20,000 stamps were set aside to be sold with prints or to be signed by the artist. These were printed in sheets of ten. Stamps numbered 20,001 -150,000 were printed in booklet panes of five and distributed to license agents (see Figure 16). Stamps with serial numbers higher than 150,000 were printed in sheets of thirty and reserved for sale to collectors. The stamps that were distributed to license agents were available to collectors for a brief period of time following the end of the hunting season and then destroyed. The collector-type stamps, on the other hand, were kept on sale for three years. This accounts for the relative difficulty in obtaining unused examples of early North Dakota booklet-type (hunter) stamps.
New Hampshire’s first stamp was printed in two different formats. When collectors placed their orders, they were asked whether they wanted stamps with straight edges on three sides (booklet type) or fully perforated (from sheets printed for collectors). Not understanding the difference between the two types, the majority of collectors requested fully perforated stamps (see Figures 23 and 24).
Collector interest in state duck stamps exploded in the mid-1980s. This can be attributed to the large number of states issuing stamps by this time and the fact that an album containing spaces for federal and state waterfowl stamps was published by Scot in 1987. In the years since, every state has initiated a waterfowl stamp or waterfowl conservation stamp program. Hawaii became the last state in 1996.
At one point in the mid 1990s, nearly half of the states printed their stamps in two formats. Hunter-type stamps from Connecticut, Montana and Virginia were printed in booklet panes of ten (2×5) with selvage on both sides. These are most often collected in horizontal pairs. The selvage on each side of the pair makes it easy to differentiate them from the collector-type stamps, which were printed in sheets of thirty. When the 1986 Montana stamps were issued, some representatives at the state agency did not recognize a difference between the booklet and sheet type stamps. Therefore, only a small number of booklet-type stamps were obtained by collectors (see Figure 27).
Figure 27. The 1986 Montana waterfowl stamps that were sold to hunters were printed in booklet panes of ten with tabs at the top.
There have been some occasions when the waterfowl season was ready to begin and the state license section sections had not yet received their stamps from the printer. This occurred in 1989 for Oregon and in 1991 for Idaho. In these instances “temporary” non-pictorial stamps were printed and distributed to license agents for issue to hunters until the regular pictorial stamps were received see figures 28 and 29).
Figure 28. 1989 Oregon temporary waterfowl stamp.
Figure 29. 1991-92 Idaho temporary waterfowl stamp.
In the late 1980s the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service encouraged many tribal governments to formally organize their fish and wildlife programs. Many of these programs were made to include stamp and license requirements in their general provisions. In 1989 the Crow Creek Sioux of South Dakota became the first tribal government to issue pictorial waterfowl stamps (see Figure 30).These stamps were not printed with collectors in mind. Rather, tribal Department of Natural Resources officials were simply attempting to conform to standards set by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission with their pictorial stamps. Separate stamps were printed for reservation residents. South Dakota residents who did not live on the reservation and non-residents of the state. For each classification only 200 stamps were printed.
Figure 30. In 1989 the Crow Creek Sioux became the first tribal government to print pictorial waterfowl stamps.
The number of tribal governments that have issued stamps required to hunt waterfowl now numbers over twenty. While some of the tribal stamps were printed and issued in relatively small quantities due their small land area, others are more readily available.